Mortgage demand plunged to its lowest level in more than four years last week as rising interest rates on home loans continued to weaken homebuyer activity.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA’s) latest survey, released on Oct. 16, applications for mortgages fell by 17 percent for the week ending Oct. 11, with application volume hitting its lowest level since April 2020.
The decline in home loan demand came as mortgage rates marched higher for the third consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rising to 6.52 percent last week, the highest since August.
“The recent uptick in rates has put a damper on applications,” Joel Kan, the MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement. He added that while demand from prospective first-time buyers held up “to an extent,” overall refinance and purchase activity declined….